


Wanting Her Hand

by matrixrefugee



Category: Yami No Matsuei
Genre: Gen, Pre-Canon, References to historic phobias regarding radiation exposure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 10:37:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17958884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matrixrefugee/pseuds/matrixrefugee
Summary: Yukitaka Muraki's student wishes to become more than just a student





	Wanting Her Hand

**Author's Note:**

> This is a marked departure from my usual speculation about Kazutaka Muraki's parents and how they met. I had a brain storm as to just where the pale fiend's mother came from and who called her his daughter...

Yukitaka Muraki had seen it coming a mile off, and now it had happened. Yuri Shidou, one of his better achieving but still unremarkable students, stood before his desk, shifting nervously from one foot to the other as he awaited his professor's response to the question he had blurted out moments ago.

"You want my blessing?" Yukitaka replied, repeating the question from his point of view.

"Yes, professor," Shidou-kun replied, a bit more confidently. Asking the question had likely, in and of itself, taken some of the weight of apprehension from his shoulders. At least the youth showed initiative, rather than sniffing about in the shadows like his less-achieving classmate and lab partner Hideaki Satomi. "Yukiko and I have been seeing each other quite often outside of class, and she wishes us to be more than friends and lab partners."

Yukitaka sat back in his chair, hands folded on his knee. "You do realize that my daughter is socially above you: you're studying at Shion on scholarship. People will suspect you of being a gold-digger." He had his own concerns: the youth came from a village Nagasaki, and he suffered exposure to the effects of the atomic bomb. It had not disfigured the youngster, but the radiation could have caused unforeseen effects on the youth's health. He knew that the youth had not had much success in finding a wife or even a girlfriend: as soon as they found out about the radiation exposure, women tended to pull away from him.

"Muraki-sempai, I want to marry your daughter because I love her," Shidou-kun blurted out. "Money means nothing to me."

"Good. I have had far too many young men seeking my daughter's hand because they wanted a share in her inheritance, or to get my last name when they signed the marriage contract," Yukitaka replied. "But you do realize that Yukiko is a highly unusual girl with very particular needs."

"I promise to keep her out of the sunlight: I know that she is sensitive to it," Shidou-kun replied, stating the obvious, but at least it came from his concern for her health.

"That is a good place to start, but there is more: she is... not like other girls, her life depends on the lives of others," Yukitaka said, delicately, trying to parse this as scientifically as possible.

Shidou-kun's face crinkled in a bemused smile. "Can't that be say of anything that lives? Predatory animals kill their prey to feed themselves and their young. Even creatures that eat plants often end the lives of the vegetation."

He realized he would have to spell it out. "Yukiko feeds on the life force of others."

Shidou-kun blinked. "But I've seen her eat regular food with the rest of the students."

"She can consume both," Yukitaka replied. "She needs solid food, but it alone cannot sustain her completely."

"So what does she do? She doesn't..." Shidou-kun's hand went to his throat, as if anticipating being bitten, but the look in his eye suggested he needed some clarifying information.

"No, it's nothing like you see in Hollywood vampire movies," Yukitaka replied, expecting that reaction. "She usually feeds by touch: the longer and more intimate the touch, the deeper her ability to feed."

Shidou-kun's face went pink and he looked away. "Then... I suppose that means I've given her the chance to feed on me?"

Yukitaka chuckled indulgently. "There's no shame in it, and I suspected you and she had been intimate," he said. "You're young and you're living your life. At least you came to me and admitted as much."

"And I wish to marry her and give honor to our coupling," Shidou-kun added.

"And you asked for my blessing, rather than simply going behind my back, or marrying her without consulting me," Yukitaka replied. With mock severity, he added, "Very well, young stripling: you have my blessing and you may marry my daughter."

Shidou-kun's eyes widened at first, clearly thrown off by the shift in mood, but then he chuckled, a bit nervous, but very much relieved. "Thank you, Muraki-sempai," he said, bowing deeply. "I promise you, that you won't regret having me as a son in law."

"I will hold you to that, and don't think for a moment that this will cause me to be more indulgent in grading your class work," Yukitaka replied, smirking.

Shidou-kun widened his eyes again, then sighed. "I hope in the meantime, I can grow accustomed to your sense of humor.


End file.
